Bigger than Football: Remembering Kosta Karageorge

Kosta Karageorge, a fifth year senior on the football team, was found dead near campus due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was twenty-two years old. He is survived by his mother, father, sister, teammates, and all of us in Buckeye Nation. My heart aches for the Karageorge family and for all of the people Kosta leaves behind.

Weathering an Emotional Storm: Healing & Moving Forward (Part 3)

During the period immediately following the crisis, your intense feelings of fear, panic, and anger begin to de-escalate. It may be difficult to resume your previous level of emotional or physical functioning due to feelings of uncertainty. You’ll start to notice certain words or situations are now triggers, reminding you of the traumatic event.

Weathering an Emotional Storm: How to Remain Calm (Part 2)

As an “emotional storm” is approaching, negative thoughts may begin to take hold of you and cause intense feelings of fear, anger, panic or loss of control.

You may think things like:

“I’m in danger.”
“I’m trapped.”
“I’m all alone.”

The Landscape of Loss

We are a society that loves to acquire. So when loss comes (as it inevitably will) we find ourselves generally ill-equipped to respond.

The Growing Parent: Trauma in the Media (Part 4)

Ultimately, the responsibility for appropriate communication lies on the shoulders of the adult. Being conscious not to color our language with a multitude of descriptions and information can go a long way when talking to our children

Lamenting a Loss

When loss occurred, the community took the time to surround those who had suffered and allowed them the emotional space to offer a cry of sorrow and grief. Often the community itself offered a cry of sorrow for a loss. This is far from our modern day thinking about grief.

Surviving the Holiday Blues

Many people face the holiday season with fear or anguish. There are a variety of reasons why we feel sad during the holidays. Taking time to reflect on the source of the sadness may be the first and most helpful step. Sometimes so many changes have taken place over the course of the year that feeling blue is a normal response to the events.

Athletic Teams as Families

teams

When tragedy happens, we all react differently. Some become vocal; some become silent; others need a hug or a listening ear. Athletic teams are no different than a traditional family unit. The individuals may cope in various ways, but the team has a choice of leaning on each other or going separate ways.

Grieving: Crying is Strength, not Weakness

Grief is a normal part of life. With every loss we experience, however large or small, there is a grieving process that ensues. We may not always be consciously aware that we are grieving or we may not allow it, but grief is there. And if we don’t grieve fully, it will harm us in the long run, popping up in unexpected ways.